Entries in Debit Cards
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Durbin [dot] Senate [dot] gov(WASHINGTON) -- Sen. Richard Durbin, D-IL., one of the fiercest Congressional critics of Bank of America’s $5 monthly debit card fee, celebrated the announcement Tuesday that the bank is abandoning this approach as a win for Americans who stood up and left the bank because of the charge.

“It is a good thing because it is an indication to me that the consumers across America have a much larger voice in this process today than they did even a few weeks ago,” Durbin said on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon. “I said customers of these banks should vote with their feet. Start looking for another bank; find a bank or a credit union that treats them in the manner they want to be treated -- fairly and respectfully. Well, the message got out. And that message ended up creating a substantial move of customers from some banking credit institutions to others.”

Bank of America announced Tuesday that they are completly scrapping their planned $5 monthly debit card fee, a reversal of its announcement in late September.

Sen. Durbin said the update represents the benefits of a free-market economy, in which customers have a choice in where they do business.

“I hope it is the beginning of a trend,” Durbin said. “Consumers are now saying they’ll only do business with banks that care about serving them instead of squeezing them.”